Caffeinated Ramblings

Recently I have been thinking about coffee. You may think that strange, but there are people who are obsessed with coffee – and even some who lose sleep over coffee (pun intended). Second only to crude oil, coffee is the most traded commodity in the world. Entire economies rely upon coffee trading for their well-being. So, if I spend some time poring over (pun intended) this fantastic brew, it should not be surprising.

I am by no means a coffee aficionado. But I do like good coffee. When dining out, I have occasionally chosen a restaurant based on the quality of the coffee they serve instead of the food menu. My wife is not always in total agreement with my choices, but she is a forgiving woman.

Coffee entered my life when I was in the first grade. Back then, we would walk home from school during lunch and on cold days, my mother would make a “glass” of coffee with plenty of milk and sugar served in one of those colorful aluminum tumblers that were popular in the 50’s (the 1950’s that is). I can honestly say that the well-worn caveats about coffee that were then popular proved to be urban legends. It did not stunt my growth nor did it put hair on my chest (all theoretical methods of accomplishing that feat have proven to be unsuccessful).

In those early days, coffee was brewed in a stainless steel drip coffee maker; the water was brought to a near boil and then poured over the grounds.  In our home, mom would change between that and the stove top stainless steel percolator.  Coffee is still made this way for large functions in large electric percolators. There is something nostalgic (and awful) about boiled coffee. I call it “church basement coffee.” The advent of the Pyrex percolator helped a little by removing the metallic flavor, but it is still boiled coffee. Mr. Coffee (the coffee maker, not Joe DiMaggio) came on the scene and revolutionized home coffee brewing. Describing making coffee before Mr. Coffee is like describing record players to Millennials.

Fast forward to the present. Coffee choices are legion. Never would I have imagined that fast food restaurants and gas stations would compete over specialty coffees. The term “gas station” hardly describes the combination of fuel stop/convenience store/fast food restaurant that we know today (I know; “gas station” shows my age). One local establishment advertises a pumpkin spice and caramel macchiato. I have no idea what this is.

Now there are places that specialize in coffee only – espressos, cold brews, pour overs, and other unique ways of extracting the flavor from freshly roasted and ground coffee. And churches are getting in on this too. In my wildest dreams, I never would have thought that churches would make their pitch based on the existence or the quality of their coffee bars. Of course, a coffee bar must be baptized and sanctified if it is located in a church. If the musicians in the band (and I don’t care what they’re called – it’s a band) are called the “Praise Team,” then maybe an appropriate name for the coffee service would be, I don’t know, maybe “mocha ministry?” I actually saw a church bulletin asking for volunteers to be part of the Sunday morning “coffee ministry.” I’m sure that barista is somewhere listed among the spiritual gifts necessary for the building up of the body. Maybe I need a new translation.